Cutter Gauthier's next contract with the Anaheim Ducks is reportedly making real progress.
Elliotte Friedman addressed the negotiation directly, and his update suggests both sides are closer than they were a month ago.
He also made clear this deal isn't going to come cheap for Anaheim.
"I have heard there has been progress in the Cutter Gauthier extension negotiations," Friedman said.
"But it's going to be a really, really big number," he added.
That kind of language from Friedman usually means the number being discussed is well beyond typical second-contract territory.
It's easy to see why once you look at what Gauthier just did on his entry-level deal.
Cutter Gauthier could sign one of NHL's biggest young-star contracts
He posted 41 goals and 28 assists for 69 points across 76 games last season, elite production for a player still just 22.
He kept producing in the playoffs too, adding 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points across 12 postseason games.
Gauthier is currently still on a cap hit of just $950,000, a number about to look completely irrelevant once his new deal kicks in.
Teammate Leo Carlsson reportedly reset the market recently, and Friedman's comments suggest Anaheim hasn't quite closed that pricing gap with Gauthier yet.
Is Anaheim ready to pay two young stars top dollar in the same summer, or does one of these deals have to bend?
Anaheim finished last season 43-33-6, good for 17th overall, riding real playoff experience into an offseason full of big decisions.
That kind of production, plus a real trip through the postseason, is exactly the résumé that turns a cheap contract into a franchise-altering one.
My take: paying a really big number for a 22-year-old already producing like this isn't risky, it's just the cost of getting ahead of the market.
Nothing is signed yet. But when an insider frames it as a big number rather than a done deal, the finish line is closer than the headline suggests.
Should the Ducks pay Cutter Gauthier top dollar on his next contract?
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